Butternut Squash Soup!

My health has been particularly annoying lately. I have had a pain in my side for about 2 years now. The last couple of weeks have been rough and I decided to drastically change my diet, after speaking to many family memebers and friends. I have gotten specific teas, cut back on pastas, use less cheese and dairy (though it was recommended to stop it all together), and kept an eye on my fatty food intake. 

So far I have had more energy and I haven't been as strict as I should be. I would like to go all out, but it gets expensive and I just lost my job. In the meantime I will make due with what I have available. Today I splurged on a butternut squash and some Quinoa (thank you sister!). There is a FANTASTIC natural foods store next to our city center and it is only comparable to a mini version of Whole Foods in the States. Anyhow, out of this I have created a YUMMY Butternut Squash Soup! You can find my recipe below. I actually combined two recipes that I found HERE and HERE. The results were amazing and this recipe makes enough for a large family. I doubt Jasper will eat it so I will have to freeze it, but then it's money well spent!


Butternut Squash and Quinoa Recipe

• 1 (2 to 3 pound) butternut squash, peeled and seeded
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 Cloves Garlic diced or minced
• 1 1/2 Cups Various italian vegetables diced (carrots, zucchini, bell peppers)
• 5 cups chicken stock ( I used Vegetable stock)
• 1 tsp ground cumin or nutmeg
• 3/4 Cup Quinoa
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Cut squash into 1-inch chunks. In large pot melt butter. Add onion and garlic, cook until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add squash, vegetables and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until squash is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove squash and vegetable chunks with slotted spoon and place in a blender and puree. Return blended squash to pot. Stir and season with nutmeg or cumin, salt, and pepper and Quinoa. Simmer for another 15 minutes and Serve.

Variation/Tip: You always have the option of not blending the squash and/or vegetables. Then you have chunks of veggies instead of a puree texture. Also, I added the Quinoa to the leftover water/broth while I blended the squash. This helped speed the process along a bit. *If you feel the texture is too thick or not thick enough, this is the time to add or take away extra broth. Then replace the squash into the same pan as the Quinoa.